


Shadowed Drops

by TheAzureFox



Category: Puzzles & Dragons X (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Lance/Ace if you squint, game-based, spoilers for endgame boss, spoilers for possible ending of anime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 00:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13135155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: The death of the world awaits him.Luckily, he's not alone.





	Shadowed Drops

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a certain scene in the last boss fight of the PADX video game. And, though I admit I don't quite understand what was going on, I can try to interpret it as best I can because goddamn was it one of the most impactful scenes of the game.

The Terra God stares down upon him. The beast is massive, overflowing with the energy of the planet. It’s huge, terrifying, and Ace’s knees are shaking. His life points are brimming with red, red as in the blood of his wounds that bleed without remorse. He’s tried hard to bandage up the damage, tearing off his favorite red hoodie to try and stop it from flowing. Bruises batter his skin and his team fares no better. They’re all beat, dying and without hope. Their opponent is strong, too strong, and Ace fears he is dead.

The beast opens its mouth, several sets of white teeth revealed as a ball of white light forms in front of it. Energy gathers and the ball enlarges, growing and growing until, finally, it is unleashed.

Ace feels heat blast over him and he crumples, unable to withstand the power of the impact. He’s alive, but just barely. His team is on the ground, each individual monster glowing with the power of Drops. They’re about to disappear, just like he is. The stars of Ymir dim and, with them, his vision too. Weakness floods his body, his limbs trembling as he tries (and fails) to get to his feet again.

A figure of blue stands over him. Shadows of all the colors of the drops appear around him, each forming a circle around his body. He looks up, metal in his mouth, and sees Lance offer him a Water Drop. There’s a warm smile on the boy’s face, one that seems almost alien on a person who almost never expresses happiness. Devi, who is just as shocked as Ace is, offers a submissive whimper.

“Don’t die here, idiot,” the blond Dragon Caller says to him, almost scoffing.

The Water Drop bursts and several more take its place, hovering around him.

Lance fades away.

“Wait, don’t go!” Ace grabs for him, grabs for the illusion of Lance in desperation, the feeling of loneliness and despair too overbearing.

A shadow shifts in front of him from the right end of the circle. It’s Charo, who bends down with both palms open in greeting. A Wood Drop is in his hands, hovering in front of Ace’s face.

“Don’t give up, Ace,” Charo hums. “You can still do this!” 

“Charo?” He reaches to take Charo’s hands but they phase through. Charo’s image ripples but the Drop bobs up and down, almost as if it is sitting atop a layer of water. Several more of its kind appear around Ace. 

The green-haired boy offers him a hopeful smile and then disappears much like Lance had.

Tiger appears next. “Come on, champ! We’re all countin’ on ya, alright? Don’t fail us here!”

“Of course.”

The orange-haired boy snaps his fingers and a Fire Drop appears in an outstretched hand. Tiger grabs it, tosses it up, and then lets it drop down to Ace’s eye-level. Ace accepts it, cupping it in his hands. It’s warm, and he smiles almost gratefully at the boy.

Tiger winks and then steps back, his body fading out of sight. The Fire Drop multiplies and creates five more copies of itself.

Next is a girl of blonde hair and black-and-white, almost goth, attire. Garnet looks down upon him, her parasol placed in front of her. A yellow orb sat in a haughty hand and she played with it much in the way she had when he had first met her in Vienna City. “Come on, come on,” she says in a sing-song voice, “you’re not going to act like a loser here.”

Ace scowls. _Typical_. Garnet beckons for his hand and he gives it to her, holding it out with an unsure hesitance. The Light Drop lands atop his palm, shimmers, and then bursts into more replicas of itself.

Garnet waves mockingly and then places her hands on her hips. She turns and then hops off the fragment of stardust he sits upon. Ace does not bother watching her fall to death.

The second-to-last shadow makes its appearance in the form of a pink-haired woman with dichromatic eyes. Sonia, fellow Dragonoid and also one of the few adults who had assisted him on his journey, stares at him with apathy. A Dark Drop sits atop her fingertips, hovering and spinning. She bends down to his level and he takes the sphere without her prompting.

“Be wise in the path your footsteps takes,” she speaks softly, yellow and pink eyes staring at him. “You are young, but that is no reason to falter.”

He nods hesitantly, almost surprised that the deity that has called itself a god hadn’t made a move to demolish him. Instead, it seemed to observe him with a casual tilt of its head, a shifting of menacing eyes that prompted curiosity more than it did a need to finish the job.

Sonia dips her head in response, eyes closed. Her wings stretch out and she takes flight, her form disappearing as she ascends. The Dark Drop dims and then reproduces much like the others.

The last and final shadow reveals itself as his father. King stares down upon him with a big grin, arms open. The phantom encloses its arms around him and Ace accepts it, knowing full well that it isn’t truly his father. There’s a sense of physical sensation, as if King is really there, but it is vague, almost like a brush of a feather against his skin. When the two part, there is a curious little square that appears, a cube of pink decorated with a unique shape. 

A Heart Drop. 

“Take this,” King says.

Ace grabs at it, tucking it in-between his fingers and holding it close to himself. It pops, regardless of his wishes for it to maintain form, and King vanishes just as the Heart Orb becomes six.

The Drops of his companions and father swirl around him, forming a protective circle that clusters around him with the promise of power. He calls upon them, tracing the images of his journey in his mind. A kind of warmth revitalizes him, erasing the blood that flows upon his skin, vanquishing the wounds and bruises and injuries that had marred his skin like autumn leaves marred bare winter ground. He feels the specters of his friends, of his family, of his acquaintances and even his enemies (he feels Gest standing beside him, the man of tortured greed and sadistic laughs looming over him just as much as anyone else) rise up beside him. Lance is to his left. King is to his right. Charo and Tiger and Garnet and Morgan and Herriot and Rena and Hal and Ana and Donny stand behind him, each smiling and laughing, giggling with joy in the midst of an apocalypse.

The Terra God chortles, a deep trembling laugh that erases all feelings of happiness instantly. Ace is alone, his monsters the only companions to call him family. Tamazo wanders beside him, the Soul Armor of Green Odin placed upon him.

“Let’s do this, tama!” the cat of cosmic stardust calls.

His other half, a creature of the night itself, offers up a rallying cry. “For Dragoza, devi!”

The four monsters that make up the rest of Ace’s group roar in appreciation, stomping their feet and bellowing. Ace feels it. He feels the determination that the people of the world from far away express. He won’t let them down.

The strawberry orange-haired boy swipes his fingers in the air. Instantly, all the drops that are given to him align. Their power gleams, bursts, and then enchants his monsters. He holds out his hand, a sphere of fire building. 

Brave Cross Dragon goes first, darting forward with a blast of Light energy piercing the shield that surrounds the Terra God. The creature roars, enraged, and swats at Ace with an arm. He rolls to the side, dodging its attack. Mystic Dark Knight goes next, raising it’s sword to swing at the first eye of the beast. The Terra God snarls, flinging itself back and into the black mist of the night sky. Leviathan moves afterwards, aiming for the other eye with a swing of its club. It lands and the creature releases another roar, recoiling as black liquid drops from black eye sockets. It’s a gruesome sight, one that Ace wishes not to ever repeat seeing. Gyoukami, the loyal dragon that he is, flies forward, singeing the skin of the mighty deity with a fire worthy of lava. The Terra God flinches but regains its stance of dominance, looming over him in the form of something burnt and crisped. 

Ace nods at Tamazo. The cat nods back and Devi, who joined his part of the cat’s own accord, offers a sharp-toothed grin. Both marshmallows of cosmic stardust throw their stubby arms into the air.

“Let’s do this,” Ace says, fire on his fingertips. The wings of the sun spread out before him, feathers of gold shining in the starlight that filters in overhead.

He jumps, wings guiding him, and aims for the heart of the beast. Devi and Tama hold out their staffs, their items of power, and rush alongside him.

They smile, laugh, and then narrow their eyes in one last moment of concentration.

Light blinds their eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you keep up to date with the anime on the Japanese side, you've probably heard the show talk about the Terra deity (I think they referred to it as the Terra Dragon? Technically, depending on which game you get I think it can be either Terra GOD or Terra DRAGON) in one of the episodes where Ace is at the Dragonoid village. This Terra deity is the endgame boss, with the player (Ace/Ana) trying to save Dragoza by defeating this creature and it's 3-5 different forms. 
> 
> And, what's really heart-warming about the boss battle is that, at one point in time, you WILL be killed by the Terra deity. And, when this happens, all your past team-mates (namely, all the people in this fic sans Ana because she does not exist in game unless you are playing as her) basically give you all the five types of drops and bring you back to life. I probably cried a little bit at that scene although the very end of the game is what got me and I can't wait to see the anime (hopefully) go that route and tear everyone's hearts out because honestly the ending is one of the most emotional parts of the game. 
> 
> Also, while I can't say I know what was being said by each character in the cutscene here (bc I don't understand Japanese :'D) I can at least approximate what was being said based on what I saw in the visuals of the cutscene itself. Each character seems to be supporting the player and wanting to help them save Dragoza and it almost seems as if their "wishes" are what lead the player to be able to resurrect themselves to fight the Terra deity.


End file.
